Wednesday, March 28, 2007

A Twist In The Tale


I got double-tagged by the Emperor and the Captain of the Imperial Guard to continue the epic saga of the blogbuster serial The 48 Concubines. Such a knotty problem to untangle as you see, the Emperor could not wait for his Captain and came up with a Chapter 8 of his own! Not to be outdone by his Emperor (or perhaps not liking the way the story went) the Captain came up with an alternative Chapter 8! So... two different Chapter 8s to follow-thru on. Which way shall I go? You wanna know? Read on...

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
*narrator's voiceover*


Previously on The 48 Concubines... When we last left the Imperial Court, we were stunned with a series of shocking revalations. First, the appearance of an Empress spinning her devious plots behind a curtain of secrecy, then the alleged pining love of Prince Moh for Concubine W and their affair, which turned out to be false as the Prince claimed his love to be for Vai Ling alone. In a sudden twist, Concubine W was then accused of having an affair with Siu Kiong, the Imperial Executioner who was supposed to be a eunuch...

The Imperial Executioner claimed that he was actually named Siu Pao and was NOT having an affair with Concubine W but instead that he was her long lost brother... and merely happened to resemble the Imperial Eunuch Siu Kiong 100%. In the midst of it all, as Concubine W revealed her secret crush on Entertainer Wang, Siu Kiong walked in.

Being increasingly displeased at this turn of events and at the laxity of his Captain in allowing such ongoings in the Imperial Palace under his nose, the Emperor turned his wrath upon the Captain the very next day. He was to be demoted to Shoeshine Boy and banished to the island of the HooLooHuaHuas when Concubine A intervened with a devious plot of her own. Instead of banishment... the punishment would be to make the Captain a Eunuch of the Imperial Palace!

*cast credits roll before fading to the opening scene*

A gasp ran through the Imperial Hall at the Emperor's decree. The Captain moaned and looked to be on the verge of fainting, and the Texan Consigliere looked aptly pained at the mention of the little imperial tool in sympathy for a fellow male. Ouch. The Captain would not be sitting down for days after the procedure...

"Emperor, you have imprisoned the Imperial Executioner on charges of deceiving the Emperor by concealing his relationship with Concubine W," one of the guards pointed out. Siu Pao had been imprisoned and Concubine W banished to her quarters for blatantly confessing to having eyes for another man (Entertainer Wang) instead of her Emperor alone.

The Emperor stopped short and frowned at this. "Hmm, that's true."

The Captain looked up hopefully at this turn of events; maybe he would be saved! He looked upon Concubine A with mournful eyes, trying to communicate with her silently. How could this angel break his heart? After all that he had secretly and silently done for her, his angel lover... She was perfect in his eyes, but this... act of betrayal - of suggesting to the Emperor to make him a eunuch... Maybe banishment to the island of HooLooHuaHuas wasn't that bad after all. And he would be able to stick to his vegetarian diet there, unlike at the Imperial Palace where everything was sinful, tempting, deliciously good food.

But the Captain's little flicker of hope went out in a puff of flame when the Emperor pointed at the Imperial Doctor. "You can do it, Imperial Doctor! It's just like an amputation after all. A minor surgical procedure. Go bring your tools! And on second thoughts, bring out the former Imperial Executioner Siu Pao too. Kill two birds with one stone... We shall have it out with once and for all..." The Imperial Doctor hurried away to do the Emperor's bidding.

Moments later, the guards dragged in not one, but two Siu Paos. No one could distinguish between them both, the resemblance was so startling save for their clothes. A murmur ran through the Imperial Court at this turn of events.

"Your Imperial Highness, when we went to get Siu Pao from his cell, we found your Imperial Eunuch Siu Kiong attempting to trade places with Siu Pao so that he could escape! We apprehended them both."

The Emperor was getting more and more displeased by the second. First an aborted eunuch procedere and now this. Did nobody respect the Imperial Throne anymore? Something drastic had to be done. And he had more pleasurable things to do than hand out punishments... like returning to the Turtle Pool with his concubines and inspecting blue blue teis or planning the evening's games before bedtime.

"Where is the Empress? Let her deal with this," he ordered.

Upon hearing this, there was a wail from amongst the concubines and the crowd parted as a disheveled but still beautiful Concubine W pushed her way through. She had run all the way to the Imperial Court from the concubines quarters upon hearing that her brother Siu Pao was to be punished.

"Emperor, I beg you, let me speak!"

*scene fades to black and the words T O B E C O N T I N U E D appear*
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~


What could Concubine W want to say? And what would the Empress decree when she arrived? Would Concubine A succeed in her plot to keep the Captain around, albeit as a eunuch? Does the Captain still love Concubine A? Will the Imperial Doctor return and perform this minor surgical procedure? And what of Prince Moh, Vai Ling and Concubines M and C? Will they have a part to play in this? Who should continue with this tale? I think Concubine W should be given the chance to say her piece, so over to you...

(p.s. Can someone please inform Concubine W that she's been tagged? Thanks very much.)

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Tropical island fare


L B wanted to know who this stowaway would like to be marooned on an island with for a year. The only catch is, there are only five others you can choose, and they all have to be bloggers. *pouts* There goes my dreams of being on an island with... let's say Colin Firth and Hugh Grant.

Other than the swift deflation of my initial daydreams, I have to say it sounds like fun! A secluded island, no one around other than this little community, sun, sand and sea... all we need is a little imagination to get it going. So, my round-up of bloggers goes like this:-

Gotta pick Simple American. Because he knows what to do to keep the bar-b-que going and probably will bring a stash of Coronas to accompany the bar-b-que. Not only that, he can teach us to play dice on the beach, and we can sit around telling all sorts of jokes.

Next up is Chen. Like L B said, we need a doctor around. Not only in the medical facility but also for bird watching, picture taking and bug kacau-ing. Sure to be plenty of birds, fish and bugs to keep her occupied when she is not doctoring our aches and pains. (Also, this is like buy one free one... pick Chen, get Ah Boy!!!)

I pick L B because he tagged me! Muahahaha. But this one also brings benefits one. I will ask him to bring the wi-fi setup so that we can surf and bum around on the Internet when we're not eating and playing on the island. Plus, we need more than one cook on the island... I see plenty of food related pics on his website... but dunno whether his cooking nice or not!

Since everyone raves about May's baking, I pick her! We will need supply of cakes, cookies and muffins to keep our mouths occupied besides potfuls of ABC soup. The only pity is that there isn't a place on the island to go shopping with her!

Hmm... I'm going to bend the rules a bit with my last pick. Since I have picked Chen and bonus Ah Boy, I'm going to pick Angie and get bonus Brad!!! Ekekekekeke! Since wherever Angie goes, Brad will be there, how could I separate this match made in heaven? So that balances up the star quotient on the island. Now we have people to watch and be watched.

This is starting to remind me a bit of the series L O S T. Let's see if we can match them up... There's a doctor, a hot couple, two rebels, the friendliest guy in town and the confused girl. Here are a number of choices for you to pick from:

Guys: Locke, Jack, Charlie, Sayid, Sawyer, Hurley, Jin, Michael, Walt, Bernard, Mr Eko
Gals: Kate, Claire, Sun, Rose, Ana Lucia, Libby
Others: ???

Let me know your answers in the comments! *wink*

Disclaimer: All purported similarities between the bloggers named above and the cast of Lost are all in the mind of the writer only. *runs away just in case kena piaked or pinched*

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Pretty Princessy Nails!


I got a spa manicure yesterday. Absolutely FREE! Yes, it was such a good thing to happen to me. Thanks to my aunt, who gave me the voucher for the free manicure. Anyways, I had to use it before the end of March, so I called up last week and made an appointment for today. The nail salon is called Amante Beauty and it's located in Dataran Prima in a row of shophouses that's tucked away from the main road. It's a smallish shophouse that's quite cosy and the area is simply full of independent beauty salons, nail shops and hair salons. You'll find parking to be quite plentiful there and I don't think there's a need to pay parking on a Saturday / Sunday.

The spa manicure is something that Amante is promoting right now, and is from the 7 days to beautiful hands collection that promises softer, whiter, smoother and younger skin. I had completely no idea what the spa manicure would entail, having only had normal manicures before. Firstly, they slather a scrub onto your hands and all over your arms, even above the elbow. After they rub it in, they use a warm, damp cloth to rub it off together with the dead skin cells. Then they use a moisturiser to cover your hands and use cling wrap to seal it in, so you're essentially wrapped up like Phua Chu Kang's wife Rosie's slim wrap! Then you put your cling wrapped hands inside heating contraptions that look like astronaut gloves and leave you for between 5 - 10 minutes. When time's up, your hands are unwrapped and a green mask is put on your hands only (arms not included). While the mask dries, the manicurist will cut, file and shape your nails and remove the cuticles and excess skin around your nails. When the mask is dry it will be peeled off and a moisturiser will be applied with a short massage. After which the manicurist will apply a base coat, two coats of your preferred nail color and a top coat before you proceed to drying your nails and voila! you're done.

The spa manicure is conducted in the special manicure room in the back, equipped with four super-cool chairs that have little jacuzzi footbaths attached. The chairs are acutally massage chairs too, so you can enjoy the sensation of a massaging vibrator at your back while the manicurist works on your hands or feet. So relaxing! And the room is darkened, there's soft jazz music playing... I nearly drifted off to sleep there.

The photo above of my nails don't really do them justice as I asked for a matt nude varnish and the manicurist chose one that is almost the same color as my base nail shade. But if you see it in real life, it's natural looking yet so shiny and pretty! Kind of a did she or didn't she do her nails kind of look. Now all I need is a diamond to adorn my fingers...

Amante is running a promotion on both their normal manicures / pedicures as well as the spa treatments for first time customers. Their promotion rates are RM59 (normal manicure + pedicure) and RM117 (spa manicure + pedicure) instead of the usual charges of RM78 and RM180 respectively. I highly recommend the spa treatment as you can see the clear difference before and after. Fine lines on my hands virtually receded and my skin is softer and smoother than before. I don't really know about the whitening part of it as I am already rather fair to begin with, so I didn't see much change there.

Amante Beauty Care Sdn Bhd
C-G-5, Jalan PJU 1/45
Aman Suria Damansara

Tel : 03-7803 4664

Friday, March 23, 2007

Ridin' the rollercoaster


It's been a rollercoaster three weeks at the new job for me. Why did I use rollercoaster to describe it? Well, you know how rollercoaster rides are. Let me show you how I felt...

First you go to the amusement park. Then you try out a few rides. Then you spot the ROLLERCOASTER. Your eyes light up, you're so enthused about getting on it. You patiently join the long queue of people waiting to board the rollercoaster. You see the people getting off it. Some look like they've just had the best time of their lives, others look like they just saw what they last ate and didn't like that sight very much. You hear the screams of the people on board the rollercoaster and you start to feel tingly with excitement.

Then it's your turn. You climb into the waiting rollercoaster car, the operators tells you to fasten the seatbelt. They exchange knowing looks. Ah yes, yet another dumb person who doesn't know what he/she is getting into. You're still excited at this point of time and don't see the glances. Or you choose to ignore it.

Then slowly, the ride starts. It leaves the platform and loops around a gentle curve and you think, "No sweat! I'm gonna enjoy this.". Then it strains to climb the steep slope before the first downhill slide. You're bored, hanging over the side and looking forward to see what's next. But all you see is blue sky ahead of you and suddenly your tummy feels like it's just dropped out of your body. Whoah! As the first scream leaves your mouth, the ride plunges down down down and whips around another curve that slams you into the side of the car. You start to think, "Hey, it looked much tamer down below..." and then the ride starts to slow... You think, "Maybe it wasn't so bad, and maybe I shouldn't have screamed like a girl."

The ride slowly cranks up another hill, and the scenario repeats itself.

Yep, I'm alternately bored for ages and then stressed for short, short periods of time with a tummy aching drop and a scream trapped in my lungs (I am in the office after all, so primal screaming sessions are not allowed nor encouraged *wink*).

Thank goodness another week's over. My wobbly legs would like the weekend, thank you very much.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Ain't No Sunshine...


... when I'm bored...

... I feel empty
... I see the world in shades of gray
... this makes me depressed
... I am usually not happy
... I feel aimless because there's nothing to do
... I feel unproductive, leading to more unhappiness
... I will start to feel irritated / frustrated / upset
... but yet I have no inclination to start anything new
... I find it hard to motivate myself for lack of direction
... I usually don't last long wherever I'm at or whatever I'm doing

I have no idea what I'm doing here.

+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
Addendum:
I received a totally unexpected phone call from a friend this evening. Someone whom I considered a very good friend, but drifted apart for reasons better left unsaid. For some strange reason, just hearing from this friend is enough to lift whatever gloomy spirits I have. Just like the sunlight breaking through the trees.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

T is for Tag!


The Imperial Doctor™ needed to (tag someone) check out the credentials of the Imperial Press Spokesperson™ (aka the Imperial Spindoctor™. Wahahahaha!) to ensure that I know my proper A-B-Cs and am not a reporter stringing along for my big break. Wah... don't play play you know, background also must check one... for the safety of the Emperor, we must make sure that nothing scandalous is written about the inside life of the Imperial Palace™. (Besides that which has already been published in The 48 Concubines™ blog-serial , but I assure you, that is highly fictionalized. Nothing of the sort happened in the Imperial Palace™. Yes, nothing happened. I have no comment on anything else you may want to ask.)

Anyway, as I was saying, the background check involved some sort of (tag) test on my knowledge of A-B-Cs. Being a part of the Imperial Palace™, I answered the (tag) test based upon my insider knowledge. These are my answers in bold (ignore comments within brackets - it is pure speculation. Or maybe not). Chen, I pass the test boh???

A is for Apple™ (the Emperor's favorite food)
B is for Ben (aka Prince Moh, the Emperor's only son, who was rumored to be after Concubine W, but is now with Vai Ling, whoever that is)
C is for Concubine C (she of the 69 skills to keep the Emperor happy and trendsetter of bustiers and turbans as Imperial fashion)
D is for Dog (of which there are two - Master Liucas and Ah Boy)
E is for Empress (who remains as yet unknown and may be moving behind the scenes to create more drama)
F is for Fainting (which has yet to happen in The 48 Concubines™ but is likely to happen. There are so many women there!)
G is for Gold (namely the Imperial double bling-bling... I wonder if the Emperor ever takes it off?)
H is for Hairball (the mysteries of which I have yet to unravel. It promises to have the making of a bestseller.)
I is for Io Ka Chng (the specialty of Prince Moh, when he's not busy baking [or looking for Concubine W] being with Vai Ling)
J is for Jokes (belly aching jokes, good jokes, naughty jokes, dirty jokes, bawdy jokes, Aggie jokes... provided by Simple American, when he's not being the go-to man for the Emperor)
K is for Captain™ kyh (who may or may not be having a crush on Concubine A. That is highly debatable and highly scandalous and potentially defamatory, if not deadly... around here the slightest hint of suspicion could mean the appearance of the Imperial Executioner™!)
L is for L B (the Emperor of all he sees, with more than 48 concubines at his beck and call)
M is for Concubine M (who initiated the silk robe fashion with her blue blue tei creation)
N is for Neh (used by the Emperor to point at others. For more info on how to use this phrase, see Episode Seven)
O is for O (with multiple meanings. Like - Oh! Oooh! Oops! Ouch! as uttered from time to time by the characters)
P is for Potong Stim (which is how the Emperor reacted when his beloved concubines ganged up on him to deny him his favorite foods under the [hasutan - Malay word for instigated] instructions of the Imperial Doctor™)
Q is for Queue (seen everywhere, everytime a new episode of The 48 Concubines™ is published)
R is for Robe (see definition under S)
S is for Silk Robe (the current fashion of the Imperial Palace™, a must have for any concubine)
T is for Turban (favored headgear of the Emperor, but only when placed on head by Concubine C)
U is for U = General viewing (the rating that the media is giving The 48 Concubines™ in an effort to [dupe] draw in more readers. Please be informed that you will have to get your latest episodes from legal sources only. Uncle Ho has not been given license to reproduce the series.)
V is for Vanilla (the intoxicating scent used by Concubine M)
W is for Concubine W (who is seen in THAT scene from Episode Four and implicated in Episode Seven for having an affair(s). And for drooling over Entertainer Wang.)
X is for X-Rated (oops! You didn't hear that from me! But yes, certain episodes of The 48 Concubines™ are steamy and hawt!)
Y is for Yoga (of the flying sort as practised by the Empress. Helps her to think up devious plots and ignore the Emperor's indiscretions.)
Z is for Zzzz... (which is something that seldom happens in the Imperial Palace™)

Since this is such a confidential meme, I won't be (tagging anyone) forcing others to take the test. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some spin-doctoring to do. I hear there's a bush fire happening in the Imperial Palace™. Tsk tsk tsk!

Disclaimer: The persons and events named above are purely fictionalized and the reader is discouraged from attaching any notions and misconceptions to the article above. Violaters of this disclaimer will be locked up in chains awaiting a Royal Decree™ or Royal Pardon™. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Monday, March 19, 2007

My David Letterman moment


I got tagged by the blogging canine Ah Boy, who wants to know what I want / don't want for my birthday. It shouldn't be too hard, seeing as how I just passed my birthday 2 months back. I thought I'd present my tag to you, David Letterman style. A Top Ten list in order from last to first. So, here goes...

I W A N T :
10. To eat eat eat ice-cream birthday cake
9. To be on leave for my birthday (cannot work on that day... it's not good!)
8. To have all pictures taken of me on that day to turn out perfect
7. To shop-til-I-drop on my birthday and buy loads of goodies
6. Prezzies! (preferably from my wishlist, otherwise shopping vouchers will satisfy me equally)
5. One special wish to be granted to me as and when I wanna claim it. *wink*
4. To look back on the day with contentment
3. To celebrate my birthday with family, loved one and friends
2. To be healthy, wealthy and wiser for the coming year
1. To strike the lottery!!! (the bigger the better!)

I D O N ' T W A N T :
10. To put on weight from all the pigging out, esp. the ice cream cake
9. To see a pair of shoes / a dress I like / a bag I heart / etc and find out it's sold out
8. To receive prezzies that I don't want / can't use / already have (unless I heart it very much)
7. To be at work and hear or receive anything remotely work related
6. To see people who'll upset me - e.g. boss / yucky work colleagues / people whom I have a beef with / exes and their now significant others
5. To see the bill$ related to my birthday expenditure. Heh heh.
4. To be lectured that I'm now older / need to be matured / should be attached or married
3. To be one year older! (I wanna stay forever 21!!!)
2. To celebrate my birthday alone / without family, loved one and friends by my side
1. To miss a single moment of my life

Ta-dah! And there you have it, the Top Ten I Want and I Don't Want lists. Now who to tag? I shall tag a guy and a gal...

Representing the guys: Captain kyh!
Representing the gals: Jo

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Red carpet gala premiere of T H H C™ franchise resort

*turns on television*


A well-coiffed female news reporter appears, standing on the red carpet, freezing in her skimpy designer gown.


"And we're all here, standing on the red carpet outside the Blogsphere Theatre to witness the premiere of the latest franchise of T H E H U G H U G C L U B™. This wildly successful idea popularized the concept of CHUPPING and the awarding of highly coveted HUG points for which bloggers all over the world race each other to be the top three CHUPPERS for the fame, the glory, and yes, the prizes. A number of celebrities are scheduled to be here today..."


A sleek stretch limo pulls up, distracting the reporter.


"And he's here! The blogger formerly known as Chairman and the perpetuator of T H H C™ franchised resorts Internet-wide, the one responsible for all the groovy T H H C™ logos which are a must have for any cool blogger, he's the Emperor of the Imperial Den and star of his own blog-serial The 48 Concubines... it's L B!"

A silk robe clad L B strikes a pose for the crowd, flashing his bling bling L and B on twin gold chains.

A flash of camera bulbs popping alerts the reporter to the new arrivals. It's a gorgeous couple.

"OMG! It's
Brad! And Angie! Love her Angel-themed outfit. Don't they look good together? No sign of Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh and Pax Thein anywhere though..." A sultry, lip-pouting Angie sashays by with her Brad.

The sound of a faintly Oz-tinged accent, the aroma of freshly baked gingerbread cookies and a whirlwind of hugs for all herald the arrival of
May in her blue blue tei silk robe with a glimpse of leg, feet shod in pretty sandals and a brand spanking new black leather bag.

"Hmm, looks like silk robes are the must have of this season's high fashion... that and bustiers too, as excellently modeled by our next red-carpet arrival."

A bustier clad beauty known as
Concubine C model walks by, followed soon after by Jo, the family advocate and the iDoc, also known as the Imperial Doctor with Ah Boy, purveyor of siew pai kuat and lor mai kai.

A rumble on the pavement and screeching of wheels announce the latest arrival on the red carpet as a monster truck with machine guns mounted on its hood pulls into the arena. A Texan cowboy hops down. "Howdy y'all," the
Simple American drawls as he swaggers inside.

"It looks like all the celebrities are here. Let's go inside for the opening ceremony." The reporter and cameraman hurry inside.

All the celebrities are lined up to cut the red ribbon, golden scissors poised above the ribbon.
L B brandishes his pair of golden scissors around.

"I now declare this resort of T H H C™ officially open!"

Confetti sprays from the ceiling, champagne corks pop, camera flashbulbs go off, awards-style music trumpets in the background, bloggers everywhere cheer...

*television suddenly goes static*

Huh? Wha...? Oh! It was just a dream! Silly me... *blush*
But this
T H H C™ resort is open and it's not a dream, so CHUP away! *grin*

Friday, March 16, 2007

Elevator music


I have a silly question to ask you. What do you do in when you're in an elevator with some people (strangers whom you don't know) and the entire elevator is mirrored? Some possible answers:-

a) Shuffle to the front/side/back of the elevator
b) Stand your ground and look around, staring everyone in the eye
c) Look down at your shoes or look up at the ceiling
d) Stare steadfastly straight in front of you at your own reflection or at the head of the person in front of you
e) Watch the floor numbers moving
f) Clutch your belongings and look around furtively, ready to make a dash for it the moment the doors open
g) Yawn
h) Look at your watch and / or tap your foot
i) Make silly farting noises and pretend it was the person next to you by moving away very very quickly

Do you have any funny answers to add to this post? LOL!
ADDENDUM
~ Check out how gorgeous you look in the mirrors
~ Make faces at the people inside the elevator with you
~ Woof at them like Ah Boy
~ Annoy them by talking loudly on your mobile
~ Talk dirty (or suggestively!) to them
~ Pretend to have the big "O" as the elevator moves up floors until you exit (LOL!)
~ Check out the sexytaries riding the same elevator with you

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Time out for some tee-vee


The couch potato in me absolutely adores nothing more than vegging out in front of the telly with some potato chips and a good program to watch, most preferably something that's of the reality show genre or a serial. Must see shows on my list go on, and on, and on... No wonder some survey in America said that adults routinely watch about 40 hours of television a week! *faints*

Just now I was watching the final minutes of this week's episode of season three of The O.C., that hip show about teenagers living in posh Orange County who get "all shook up" when a guy from the wrong side of town gets adopted into the family staying there. For a season I had a crush on Ryan Atwood (played by Benjamin McKenzie) because of his brooding bad boy character, but his monosyllable dialogue was a bit too sparse for my liking. Now Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) is someone I can talk to, but gosh, how to like a geek who looks like a stringbean? LOL!

I remember when I got my hands on season one, I watched an episode per night, totally hooked. The cool location, the beautiful people to watch, the funky rich parents, the pampered brats... this generation's version of Beverly Hills 90210. I liked the show so much for a while my conversation was peppered with one-liners from the show. It's so yogalates, you know? *wink* Oh, come on... don't salt my game, k? Ahahaha.

I personally think that the first season was the best... The O.C. never evoked the same kind of feel in seasons two, three and finally four (which just ended in the US). If you'll excuse me now, I'm going to look at my season one pics again.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

School schmule...


I had a number of things that I wanted to blog about today, but now when I actually sit down to blog it's all gone! LOL! Short term memory... because all the spare computing power of my brain was being used for work.

Oh yeah, it's school holidays this week in Malaysia, and I stay thank goodness for school holidays! I absolutely lurve this time because of the traffic free roads to and fro from work. *manic grin* No need to squeeze two cars on a lane meant for only one. Even coming home is almost a breeze and I get home in record time. Even like today when it rained continuously from 4pm onwards I took all the back roads I knew of in KL and there were like so few cars!

Was reminded of what I wanted to blog about by kyh's post on being kiasu in comparing test scores. SPM scores came out this week as well. I don't know what to make of this next matter, but it just sounds like prejudice to me. Every year the government announces the top student. More often than not, it happens to be a Malay. This year, the top student is a Chinese. (Think of that what you may.) Next thing you know, this article comes out that there will be NO top student this year. Eh? What gives? *puzzled look*

I am so glad I am out of school. Are you? *wink*

Monday, March 12, 2007

I Came, I Saw, I Blogged!


My little blog is feeling very much lurved these days. I’ve been tagged twice in the week (first tag here). His Majesty Emperor L B took some time off his busy schedule of entertaining his many, many concubines and eating and playing with Apples™ all day long while waiting for the latest chapter of the new serial The 48 Concubines to gift me this tag. Hurhurhur.

Anyway, L B wants to know 5 reasons why I blog. 5 reasons so many ah?

I B L O G B E C A U S E :

1. I want to be heard. A blog gives me a voice to express all my feelings, my opinions, my ranting and just to make some noise. Maybe I’ll be heard. Maybe I won’t. But at least I’ve gotten it out of my system, right? I don’t have any high-minded notions of changing the world, but if I can touch at least one person who reads my blog, I consider my first reason achieved!

2. I want to widen my social circle (and make like-minded friends). Visiting you, you and you at your blogs feels like me making social visitations almost daily. By reading your blogs I feel like I’m getting to know you and like Jo said, you are like an extended family member on the Internet.

3. I am kiasu! Like Chen says, monkey see monkey do. People got blog I also want one. Even cute doggies like Ah Boy also got blog. I cannot “chup shui” leh… So I began this blog in January 2007. But little did I know that when I began to blog, the next thing happened…

4. I am addicted to blogging! Ahahaha. Every day I will feel the itch to blog… Even if I have nothing to write that day, I will pick one item from the local news and share my opinions about it. I hope to graduate to more informational, fun blogging with great pictorials instead of just ranting and raving all the time. And finally…

5. I care! How, you ask? I care enough to let the world know all about me, me me! Hurhurhur. (OK, so this reason is a bit off-course. I ran out of reasons liao. *chuckle*)

Normally at the end of the tag you’re supposed to tag someone, but ‘cause I’m new at this whole tag thingy, I shall refrain from tagging anyone. For now.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

And they call it puppy love...


What were you doing when you were 13? Riding a bike? Just started studying in secondary school? Most kids wouldn't even be thinking ahead to life in college or career choice. Maybe beginning to notice members of the opposite gender? But I'm quite sure even if you did notice someone you fancied you wouldn't be thinking of marriage, right?

In the local news yesterday, the marriage of a pair of 13 year olds was reported. To me, it sounds like they were "rushed" into marriage by others. Do they know what marriage is? What marriage entails? That it's a lifetime commitment between two people?

They just met last month. And when they started dating, their village headman summoned them and told them they should get married. Why? To avoid extra-marital sex? By encouraging sexual relations between minors as long as it's legalized? *faint* And their families had no objection as it is the local custom that permits marriage as long as both parties have reached puberty. The most ludicrous part of this piece of news is that this marriage is apparently condoned by the government, evidenced by the fact that the wedding was organized by the state government as well as the attendance of the State Islam Hadhari Development and Welfare committee chairman.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

An apple a day...


... keeps L B at play!
(Yes, not the most original of rhymes, I know.)

Thanks to May's post, the world now knows that tomorrow is your birthday.

My wish for you is that this special day be filled with all the apples you can eat and all the Apples™ you can play with!
p.s. Wonder if L B will be the first to chup this birthday post???

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

In the local news today...


I'm sure folks in the Klang Valley would have had a "moving" experience today. Why? Because an earthquake struck near Indonesia at approximately 12pm, causing tremors and swaying buildings in Malaysia and neighboring Singapore. And there was a stronger aftershock too, around 2pm. In my office you could feel the whole room and the chair / table sway like a moving ship and the rooftop plants outside my office window were shaking. Some office buildings were evacuated; mine was not. I didn't feel the first initial earthquake, but I felt the second, stronger aftershock. It was quite long too, about 30 seconds. I'm thankful Malaysia is nowhere closer to the epicenter of the "Ring of Fire". I think we'd be poorly equipped to handle such a situation.

In other Malaysian news, I was horrified to read this. Apparently, eight milky storks were released into the wild without proper preparation and acclimatization just for the sake of of marking the World Wetlands Day. The birds are tame and accustomed to humans and are not trained to fend for themselves in the wild. Whichever idiotic official who was in charge of the event (or even suggested it) should be taken across the border to Thailand and "released" there without any food, money, etc so that they will experience and know what the storks are going through.

Monday, March 05, 2007

My First Tag


Never in a million years would I have guessed that I got my very first tag this way. The Master of Trickery, L B put up a post on 10 No Play Play Games and in my haste to chup for 5 hearts, I chupped before I looked and ahhhhh! First 3 chuppers were also the first 3 taggees! So, my auspicious run continues, eh? *wink* At this rate, who knows what I'll end up with next. Win lottery? *looks hopeful*

Anyway, the name of the game is to name 10 old, ancient games that I used to play as a kid. I'm gonna name the toys that I used to play games with too. Those days are not so far gone but yet a misty memory... so here goes!

10. Batu seremban. Also known as five stones and originally played with smooth, small stones. My version was played using little hand-sewn pouches filled with rice. I never was able to sweep all five stones in one fist because my hands were too small at the time! (I was seven.)

9. Skipping rope. A favorite pastime of girls at my school, we could be found with the skipping rope (made out of hundreds of rubberbands) before school, during recess, and after school. Unless I was doing this next activity...

8. Climbing flagpoles. *blush* This one was the most tomboyish I ever got... climbing the flagpole like a monkey seemed extremely fun at the time, except for the numerous scoldings I got from my mum for dirtying my pristine school shoes.

7. Nintendo games! No Playstation at the time... Nintendo was cool then. I begged my parents for a set and got it for being first in class. Don't play play... after that I spent all my time indoors with the set and graduated to geek-a-mania computer games...

6. Monopoly. I was always looking for people to play this board game with me, but I was notoriously poor at managing hotels. I could always buy the best properties, then run out of money to build hotels!

5. Cluedo. Another favorite board game. Ms Scarlett did it in the library with the rope. Or Col. Mustard did it in the kitchen with the candlestick. Endless hours of fun!

4. Stuffed toys and dollies. Every little girl has had imaginary tea-parties, I would presume. And the stuffed toys and dollies would be the guests. I would make them talk and talk back to them. And what's a tea party without...

3. Masak-masak aka playing house. I had a fully equipped play kitchen, with pots, pans, rice cooker, oven, blah blah blah. Loved that cookery set to bits! And the child in me still hankers after the little metal cooking set in Ikea. LOL!

2. Paper dolls. I had both kinds, the press out ones with full wardrobe, and self-drawn ones that I designed entire wardrobes for. I fancied myself a designer worthy of matching Calvin Klein, Versace, Armani... which also explained the obsession with...

1. Barbie dolls! Although I had Barbie dolls, they were more for display and less for real play. But nevertheless, dolls were a major part of my childhood days.

So as you can see, I had a real girly girly childhood! Tag done! *phew*

Sunday, March 04, 2007

A very auspicious day indeed


Today is Chap Goh Mei, or the fifteenth and last day of Chinese New Year. It's also known as the Chinese Valentine's Day. Now if I were living in the olden days, this would be the day when I would toss mandarin oranges into the sea (or river or longkang) in hopes that it would be picked up by an eligible suitor and we would live happily ever after. Hee hee hee!

Today is also an auspicious day as I found out here, here and here that today is also Simple American's birthday! Hailing all the way from the land of the Lone Star, he holds the honour of being my blog's very first commenter. So I'd just like to wish him (again!) a very Happy Birthday! Yay!

And today I made my first CHUP to enter T H E H U G H U G C L U B™ over at LB's site. Such a cool concept to add to the fun of blogging! Today must be my lucky day!
Any more auspicious good news to add to this post? *grin*

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Everything's in motion


A first day at work. And a second day at work. And immediately after that a CNY dinner on Friday night to meet the new colleagues. All of whom have no idea who I am or what I do. And know most of each other. I felt like the proverbial lamppost! Wahahaha... but at least I got to see the crazy (drunken) side of them. Maybe they won't be so scary on Monday then. I should keep that in mind when I see them next.

It was a crazy first two days and I still feel like everything's moving, constantly in motion. And this is on Saturday afternoon! *shakes head* Nope. Still moving. I feel like I'm on a ship in the sea. Hopefully this "seasickness" will wear off.

On a better note, I have my parking settled. Kind of. Just that I have to pay the quarterly fees this month. But it's way cheaper than I expected. Oh well.

(Sorry for the brevity and unevenness of the post. My blogging skills seem to have disappeared all of a sudden! More to blog when I recover. LOL.)